The Childrens Center believe fostering development should be the aim of education - that each individual is unique and has his/her own temperament and learning style. The individual brings this uniqueness into each new experience and takes an active role in the process of learning. We learn through our actions and interactions with people and our environment. As teachers, we are also learners, testing out and perfecting our theories about how children learn and how we may best facilitate the process. We believe that the theories children construct about how the world operates (e.g. how blocks can be stacked to build a bridge, how to obtain a toy that someone else is using, and when to stop pouring milk so it won't spill) forms the foundation for more complex skills of reading, writing, mathematical, social and moral reasoning. Thus, we believe development can best be facilitated by giving children a wide range of opportunities to actively explore, manipulate, question, and discover. Our goals for the children are for them to develop positive self-esteem, to become self-initiated thinkers and discoverers and to have respect for themselves and others in the world in which they live. ...read more